How has your Dog changed in the last year?

[Slick]

I was just reflecting on how Leo has changed over the last year, and have realized there have been quite a few changes.

How has your dog changed in the last year?

For Leo:
- He now sleeps in bed with me all night, no matter how much I move. Even several months ago, he wouldn't do that. If I so much as twitched my finger, or moved my head from one side to the other without moving a single other body part, he would be off in a huff and stay off. I can even push him now (when he takes up WAY too much space) and at most he will stand up and resettle. The added benefit is that he doesn't wake me up whining in the mornings anymore, and will sleep until I am ready to get up.

- He's a bit less obsessed with other dogs. Before, if I didn't keep a sharp eye out while he was off-leash and recall him, he might ditch me if he saw another off-leash dog before me in order to say hi. Now, he will very easily call off and come right back to me before he even gets a few feet.

- He entertains himself a lot better. He still prefers me to play with him, but there will now be 10 minute spurts where he throws his toy around by himself, which never happened before.

- The vacuum cleaner can now be watched from a safe distance across the room, as opposed to having to go hide somewhere across the house.

How about yours?

 

[Liminal]

This time last year we were having pretty big issues with reactivity, which are now mostly taken care of... I don't think they were very deeply rooted, obviously, he was just very dramatic.

This time last year he also hadn't had any herding training put on him and I wasn't sure how he would take to it. Now he's usable for small farm chores with the goats.

Overall he's just matured a lot in his mentality, which is what you'd expect from 1-2 years I guess. He's much more focused and level-headed these days, and the amazing dog I know he can be shows through a lot more often.

It's actually just been a great year for progress.

 

[Annabell]

This is a fun thread!

Fable isn't so obsessed with food and can manage to settle down on her own now when we're eating or cooking when I used to have to tether her or put her in her crate.

She doesn't get carsick as much.

She's gained a lot of confidence and is now a lot better in large crowds, around loud noises, and isn't as nervous meeting new people.

Her toy drive has increased a lot- she will actually play fetch with me now and tug and play with toys.

And she's become a lot more obedient in general. I've worked with her a lot on commands at a distance and in distracting environments as well as recall and it really has paid off.

 

[joce]

Truman will poop outside in the cold. My prayers were answered and that's all I asked for!!! I swear last winter was miserable.

Seriously though! Other than that he had been pretty mellow from a pup. He has grown up some. More patient as far as his stays and great recall.

 

[CrystalGSD]

Hero was born into existence. I think that's a pretty big change lol

Crystal's anxiety has gotten a little better with age, and her energy level has dropped a bunch (which says a lot because she was already quite mellow.)

 

[Samsonyte!]

A year ago Wilson would sit in the corner of his agility class and tremble. He Q'd two out of two runs at his first trial last month and is entering his second trial next month. Playing agility is the absolute highest reward you can give this dog now.

A year ago Wilson was absolutely terrified of even leaving the house. Anytime I tried he would constantly be scattering and crouched down and hitting the end of his leash trying to get away from things, any noise would send him flailing and cause him to pee himself. Today I took him to home depot and through a crowded pet store with kids running about and while he was still nervous, he stayed by my side and looked to me for guidance.

A year ago a stranger couldn't look at Wilson without him peeing. Today he knows that strangers are not going to hurt him and that he has a choice in who he gets to meet, and that if he doesn't want to say hello he can move behind me and I can tell the person he isn't interested in meeting. He also often politely will sniff someone's hands and accept a pat and a treat, as long as he gets to approach first.

Basically I have a different dog and every day he amazes me with how hard he is trying to improve and we are slowly but surely getting there. I no longer think he would be better off in a home with lots of land that he'd never have to leave, but that he's right where he belongs.

 

[amberdyan]

Hugo is no longer obsessed with other dogs. He can be off-leash around other dogs and still maintain focus on me. A year ago he was 1 and still working through that a bit.

He's also just altogether more chill about new things. He's definitely a take anywhere do anything kind of dog at this point.

 

[krissy]

Kili has really matured mentally in the past 6 months. She listens much more consistently in agility even at the start of the day when she's wound up. Previously, if she was really fresh she'd be fast but somewhat unfocused (she would tend to not hit her contacts, not listen when I tried to keep her from going off course, etc.), but lately she's really listening (albeit still requiring some pretty significant urgency in my voice, but hey, baby steps).

Summit is starting to show his age a bit more. He'll be 11 in May, and he's just a lot slower and he doesn't listen as well. He seems to hear fine, but his obedience has really tanked over the past year or so!

 

[meepitsmeagan]

Neat thread idea!

Harlow: Not much has changed for her. Maybe a touch more of a couch potato?

Rider: Definitely seeing more confidence from him. He is starting to engage with toys a little better, he even played tug with me last week for the first time! He's getting a bit more solid with other dogs again. He went through a maturity stage where he could be a little reactive, but I'm seeing that begin to disappear even though I still manage like it is there.

Tulsa: Goodness. She's grown up a ton both physically and mentally. Her engagement still needs work, but I'm happy that once she settles into a place she turns right on and is ready to work. I still see overstimulation when we train, but it is getting more manageable. I'm seeing some drive for pulling come out a bit now, too, since she is getting more comfortable with harnesses and lines.

Iggy: Where to start?! He's completely come out of his shell. We brought him home a year ago on 3/8. He approaches me for pets now, has lost probably a good 10 pounds and has built some muscle. He sleeps on the couch and bed now instead of the floor and he will let you snuggle him. He lets us handle his ears, his feet, his face, and do collar grabs without much fuss. He has been a great dog to hunt birds over and is hilarious when he gets to playing. He has pretty much stopped humping people that come over (though ErinMC he still likes a bit too much). Yeah, he's made huge strides.